Kyle Busch captures 2nd Monster Energy Championship! (11-17-19)
By: Becca Cottingham
Headline Photo Courtesy: USA Today
Today we go to the last Championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. We have four drivers racing for a championship. We start this race with Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick on the front row and Kevin Harvick surged ahead of the group. While Martin Truex Jr fell to roughly sixth place at the beginning and is pushing his way forward now with six laps in. Whatever happened at the first of the race happened to Martin Truex Jr, has worked out as he is now leading the front of the pack. Martin Truex is faster in the corners than Kevin Harvick, where Harvick is faster on the straight a ways. Kyle Larson is making big moves and riding right up by the fence. But he just did not have enough for Martin Truex Jr who won stage one.
Entering stage two Kyle Larson pushed Kyle Busch to the lead to enter stage two. However, Martin Truex Jr did not take long and he took over the lead. We then get a three wide battle for second between: Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, and Kyle Larson. We are about half way through the run making green flag pit stops. Denny Hamlin starts them while the rest of the championship drivers followed. Martin Truex Jr’s pit crew made a huge mistake with the way they placed tires. This is a big issue because of the way the tires run. This is going to knock him down at least one lap. He is currently the first car down a lead lap. He will have to make up some ground and hope that the lead driver does not put another car down a lap. John Hunter Nemechek spins and brings a caution out. This allowed Martin Truex Jr to get back on the lead lap. Kevin Harvick passed Kyle Busch on lap 144 and has not looked back yet. Then with just over two laps to go in stage two Kyle Busch passed Kevin Harvick to win stage two.
We start stage three with all four drivers back at the front of the pack. However, it is Kyle Busch that gets out front first. Bubba Wallace makes and unscheduled pit stop for what appears to be a cut tired or flat tire. Then we start green flag pit stops for the final time with Denny Hamlin leading the way. He is quickly followed by Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. Kevin Harvick takes the lead at this point. During Denny Hamlin’s pit stop they put tape on the grill to give him more downforce. They put too much tape on the grilled and it caused him to overheat. Kevin Harvick and his team was hoping for a caution but it did not happen. So he came down pit road well after everyone else. He lost the lead and what may have been his chance for the championship. Once they corrected Denny Hamlin’s over heating problem, he was able to then make his way back around to lap Kyle Busch to get his lap back that he lost fixing his overheating. The closes driver to Kyle Busch is Martin Truex Jr who has been slowly taking chunks out of his lead. But he just did not have enough for Kyle Busch. Kyle Busch has won the 2019 Monster Energy Cup Championship.
